Official: State Police raises could hobble small forces

The news of New Mexico state police pay raises is apparently having a ripple effect across the state.

The effect on local law enforcement was mentioned at the most recent Curry County Commission meeting.

A report has come from the western side of the state in Grant County that during an April 14 regular meeting of the Santa Clara trustees, district 39 state Representative Luis Terrazas spoke about raises in State Police salaries.

Terrazas expressed support for the State Police, but highlighted the “unintended consequences” the change will have on smaller municipalities that already struggle to compete with higher salaries offered by the state and other law enforcement agencies.

Village Administrator Sheila Hudman questioned whether the recent increase in law enforcement protection funds, or LEF, could be more flexibly used to make up the difference.

Historically, use of the fund has been restricted to equipment purchases. “A small community can only buy so much equipment, and then you have this money that you can’t spend,” she said. “The biggest problem is salaries for these police officers — to increase their salaries, because we’re losing our police officers to the higher-salaried cities and counties.”

Terrazas said he was not certain whether the fund is still restricted to equipment, but said that he would consult the Legislative Council to find out.

The Silver City Daily Press contributed to this report.